/viː hʊnt ʊnt ˈkat͡sə/ lit. ‘like dog and cat’
German idiom, everyday. Two people who are always arguing.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Wie Hund und Katze
?
Everyday German, said about siblings, couples or neighbors who can’t stop bickering. It needs a verb: “sie leben wie Hund und Katze”, “sie sind wie Hund und Katze”, or ironically “sie verstehen sich wie Hund und Katze” (they get along like dog and cat).
Also said wie Hund und Katze leben, sich wie Hund und Katze verstehen
Wie Hund und Katze
in real sentences
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Sie leben wie Hund und Katze.
They fight like cat and dog.
Tatoeba, sentence by sigfrido, translation by lukaszpp, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Tom und Maria sind wie Hund und Katze.
Tom and Mary fight like cat and dog.
Tatoeba, sentence by list, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Wie Hund und Katze
come from?
Built on the old belief that dogs and cats are natural enemies, a pairing that shows up in fables and proverbs across Europe, which is why French, Spanish, Italian and English all have the same comparison. No German first use is recorded, and German Wiktionary has no entry for the phrase itself.
Mistakes learners make with Wie Hund und Katze
Copying the English order “wie Katze und Hund”: in German the dog comes first, “wie Hund und Katze”.
Other German idioms like Wie Hund und Katze
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